NASA celebrates the ISS hitting 25 years in orbit with an epic photograph

NASA has taken to its blog to announce that 25 years ago, on December 6, the first two modules of the International Space Station (ISS) connected, beginning the space station assembly era.

The space agency has taken to its website to give a brief summary of the events that took place to create what we call today the International Space Station. NASA explains that the two modules, Zarya and Unity, were mated during the STS-88 mission of the space shuttle Endeavour.

The space agency writes that Endeavour's Canadarm robotic arm grappled to Zarya, which had been in orbit for two weeks at that time, and connected it to Unity, which was stowed within Endeavor's payload.

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Endeavor then separated from Zarya and Unity a week later. Since then, NASA and other nations have continuously been conducting valuable scientific research in microgravity, such as the growth of vegetables and plants, aging studies, mental health studies, and much more.

Congratulations, NASA and other participating nations, on the 25-year success of the International Space Station (ISS). For me personally, the floating laboratory represents not only incredible human engineering, problem-solving, and pioneership but also the potential of our collaborative nature, which emerges when nations that otherwise appear to be in conflict come together to tackle a common goal - space exploration.